Faith... The Totally Relaxed Comforted Living Cheetah Blanket.
Soon I hope to post the video of my nights spent inside Faith's enclosure and talk more about her. Faith is one of the cheetahs I've known (off and on) since she was a cub. She's five years old in this photo. I've built up a special relationship with her over these years. She remembers and comes to me day or night for attention, company, rubbing and a scratching.
Faith is a severely physically handicapped cheetah due to having sterile meningitis when she was just weeks old. She almost died. It affected her skeletal and tissue growth resulting in her handicaps. She is a bit crosseyed, walks stiff, runs a bit awkward, has some gastric issues, curly tail, and has difficulty getting up and laying down... she manages but usually just flops down.
Being an animal that doesn't comprehend the difference, she acts just like a cheetah anyway. Purrs, grooms, plays, runs, chases, gets affectionate, gets upset, and has the whole gamut of emotions and behaviors of a cheetah. She can never be released and is cared for as a favorite at Cheetah Experience.
Starting very early in her life as a vulnerable and sick cub, staff and volunteers would babysit her; spending days and nights watching over her. She and her old friend Eden would spend nights with the volunteers. After 5 years, Faith still loves spending nights with volunteers, even though she doesn't need watching over any more. Since I have known Faith for so long, I have special permission to continue spending nights with Faith when volunteering and interning at CE.
What is cool to me is that Faith comes to ME to spend the night rather than the other way around. This brick house you see is open on one side with a door to her large enclosure. Faith sleeps outside much of the time and when she hears me setting up the bedding, she comes purring inside and flops on me to snuggle for the night. It is an incredible and warm feeling (literally). This was recorded during winter with -freezing temps and Faith shares her warmth with me. Cheetahs have an average temp ranging from 100-103deg Fahrenheit or 39.4 Celsius! We humans are only 98.6F. Faith becomes my purring living hot water bottle cheetah blanket for the night. Just incredible.
I discovered Faith loves her neck massaged and I used that to completely relax her! I rub, scratch, pinch, pull, and massage Faith's muscles, skin, and fur on the back of her neck while she melts in my arms. The video is amazing, even for me.
It is a known stimulus relaxant to scruff the back of a cats neck. Nerve endings send signals to the brain to tell the body to relax. Mom will carry cubs using this scruff technique when carrying them to safer locations. You don't want struggling cubs when mom is carrying them so the scruffing relaxes them. Both males and females have this affect and males will innately bite the back of a female cats neck during mating. Same effect. Calming the female. It is why you see many cats with extra fur on the back of their neck... it absorbs the bite pressure from mom or male cats. It also works for veterinarians who have uncooperative house cats to examine. They place a clamp on the back of the neck and it instantly calms them.
Dolph C. Volker
Faith... The Totally Relaxed Comforted Living Cheetah Blanket.
Soon I hope to post the video of my nights spent inside Faith's enclosure and talk more about her. Faith is one of the cheetahs I've known (off and on) since she was a cub. She's five years old in this photo. I've built up a special relationship with her over these years. She remembers and comes to me day or night for attention, company, rubbing and a scratching.
Faith is a severely physically handicapped cheetah due to having sterile meningitis when she was just weeks old. She almost died. It affected her skeletal and tissue growth resulting in her handicaps. She is a bit crosseyed, walks stiff, runs a bit awkward, has some gastric issues, curly tail, and has difficulty getting up and laying down... she manages but usually just flops down.
Being an animal that doesn't comprehend the difference, she acts just like a cheetah anyway. Purrs, grooms, plays, runs, chases, gets affectionate, gets upset, and has the whole gamut of emotions and behaviors of a cheetah. She can never be released and is cared for as a favorite at Cheetah Experience.
Starting very early in her life as a vulnerable and sick cub, staff and volunteers would babysit her; spending days and nights watching over her. She and her old friend Eden would spend nights with the volunteers. After 5 years, Faith still loves spending nights with volunteers, even though she doesn't need watching over any more. Since I have known Faith for so long, I have special permission to continue spending nights with Faith when volunteering and interning at CE.
What is cool to me is that Faith comes to ME to spend the night rather than the other way around. This brick house you see is open on one side with a door to her large enclosure. Faith sleeps outside much of the time and when she hears me setting up the bedding, she comes purring inside and flops on me to snuggle for the night. It is an incredible and warm feeling (literally). This was recorded during winter with -freezing temps and Faith shares her warmth with me. Cheetahs have an average temp ranging from 100-103deg Fahrenheit or 39.4 Celsius! We humans are only 98.6F. Faith becomes my purring living hot water bottle cheetah blanket for the night. Just incredible.
I discovered Faith loves her neck massaged and I used that to completely relax her! I rub, scratch, pinch, pull, and massage Faith's muscles, skin, and fur on the back of her neck while she melts in my arms. The video is amazing, even for me.
It is a known stimulus relaxant to scruff the back of a cats neck. Nerve endings send signals to the brain to tell the body to relax. Mom will carry cubs using this scruff technique when carrying them to safer locations. You don't want struggling cubs when mom is carrying them so the scruffing relaxes them. Both males and females have this affect and males will innately bite the back of a female cats neck during mating. Same effect. Calming the female. It is why you see many cats with extra fur on the back of their neck... it absorbs the bite pressure from mom or male cats. It also works for veterinarians who have uncooperative house cats to examine. They place a clamp on the back of the neck and it instantly calms them.
6 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 704